BodiesofWaterPUBLIC

“Bodies of Water, Bodies of Land, Bodies” examines trauma through an ecological lens, acknowledging the earth as a body, whose continued ravaging will

perpetuate a cycle of trauma upon the most vulnerable of its inhabitants. Climate change and environmental contamination are already disproportionately

affecting those who live in poverty, as well as animal habitats worldwide. Glacial melt, floods and droughts, groundwater depletion, ocean pollution and rising waters are all the result of human intervention.

Frost heaves (the freezing and swelling of the soil underneath concrete) leave cracks in most New England sidewalks. I filled these cracks, both repairing the sidewalks and referencing the waterways that once ran freely through the landscape and are now polluted, siphoned, diverted and dammed. They become miniature rivers in the urban landscape - metaphors for the earth’s veins that are increasingly compromised and will eventually collapse without intervention. QR codes are embedded into the sidewalk cracks, linking to ecori.org, a watchdog that reports on environmental issues across southern New England. The lack of public information on toxins in our environment is of great concern to me. My hope is to share this valuable research with as many people as possible through these public interventions.

In this body of work, I have been casting the negative space of cupped hands waiting for water and the positive objects create glacial landscapes. I photograph hands and the digitally manipulated images read as mountainscapes (see Handscape #1 on map below), showing the cracks, crevices and folds in my hands as geological formations. My work seeks to intimately connect our bodies with the earth's body, evoking "micro and macro" scales to challenge human centered perspectives. The gesture of cupped hands, represents giving and taking. Greed has pushed human intervention radically out of balance.

Situated in the "Ocean State" and being surrounded by rivers that merge with the sea, Providence is visually and energetically connected to water. I am inserting objects into sidewalks that people traverse everyday, beckoning passersby to slow down and to pay attention to what is happening to our shared public space and resources. Visual art is about noticing, looking in new ways, paying attention. This is an essential way in which art can open us up to creating a new world. These interventions consist of small and humble gestures that can easily be overlooked. I believe that change comes in tiny transformative moments that each of us come to, if we follow our inner healing capabilities. The personal is absolutely political. I love the idea that anyone walking on sidewalks in Providence, could have a surprise encounter with these miniature landscapes. I hope that experiencing these secret waterways will inspire musings about the water that surrounds us, and also raise awareness about the state of its health.

The free maps were disseminated at the exhibition, libraries, galleries and other venues. In February of 2025, Joanna Detz (one of the founders of ECORI.ORG) gave a free lecture about environmental issues. Many thanks to ecori.org for their participation in this project.

This project is dedicated to my youngest brother Tómas, who passed away in July 2024. He was an avid fly fisherman who loved being on the water. To further his knowledge of the sea and navigation, he earned his Coast Guard Captain’s license. He was forever “haunted by waters”.

*This project was made possible in part through support from the Interlace Grant Fund, a regranting partner of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.*

“Bodies of Water, Bodies of Land, Bodies”, 2025, Public Art Intervention, Providence, RI

French Fold Map for “Bodies of Water, Bodies of Land, Bodies”, 2025, Public Art Intervention, Providence, RI

(See Below for Digital Rendition)

Digital Design, French Fold Map for “Bodies of Water, Bodies of Land, Bodies”, 2025, Public Art Intervention, Providence, RI

LINDA FORD